"Brother Jukebox" is a song written by

Paul Craft Paul Charles Craft (August 12, 1938 – October 18, 2014) was an American country singer-songwriter. The Memphis-born Craft was known as the songwriter for Mark Chesnutt's single "Brother Jukebox", and the novelty song "It's Me Again, Margaret", ...

. It was originally recorded by

Don Everly The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

, one-half of

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

, in 1977 and reached number 96 on the country singles charts. It was later covered by

Keith Whitley Jackie Keith Whitley (July 1, 1954 – May 9, 1989) was an American country music singer and songwriter. During his career, Whitley released only two albums but charted 12 singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts, and 7 more after his death. ...

on ''

I Wonder Do You Think of Me ''I Wonder Do You Think of Me'' is the third studio album released by country music artist Keith Whitley. It was posthumously released in August 1989 by RCA Records, three months after Whitley's death from alcohol poisoning. It peaked at #2 on the ...

'' and by

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ei ...

on his 1990 debut album ''

Too Cold at Home ''Too Cold at Home'' is the second studio album by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt, released in 1990 on MCA Records. Certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of one million copies, the album produced five Top Ten singles for Chesnutt ...

''. Released in November 1990 as the album's second single, it became his first Number One country hit in the United States. It was also recorded by John Starling on his 1977 album ''Long Time Gone''.

Content

The song's narrator tells of a man whose after being left by his lover (it's unknown if she was his

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

girlfriend A girlfriend is a female friend, acquaintance or partner, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed relationship where the indi ...

since the narrator said "since 'she' left me by myself"....) you're (addressing "brother jukebox", "sister wine", "mother freedom" and "father time") as the only family the narrator has got left in his life, his "new

next of kin A person's next of kin (NOK) are that person's closest living blood relatives. Some countries, such as the United States, have a legal definition of "next of kin". In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, "next of kin" may have no legal d ...

", to spend any time with at all.

Music video (Mark Chesnutt)

The music video was directed by Bill Young and premiered in late 1990.

Chart performance

Don Everly

Mark Chesnutt

Year-end charts

References

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{authority control 1977 songs 1977 singles 1990 singles Don Everly songs Keith Whitley songs Mark Chesnutt songs Songs written by Paul Craft Song recordings produced by Mark Wright (record producer) MCA Records singles